The prevailing instinct of human beings is to fight, always fight, in the face of adversity, no matter how extreme.

Which largely explains the resolve and decision by the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) to resume school sports in the aftermath of the calamitous strike by Hurricane Melissa in late October.

Rich applause is due to school leaders in western Jamaica in particular who have recognised the need for the restoration of hope, using sports as a tool.

We can’t argue with Ms Jacinth Carey, netball coach at Green Pond High, and Ms Alicia Chin, physical education head at Mount Alvernia High, that gifting their students a return to a “sense of normalcy” is important.

Ms Carey tells us that for “right now” winning netball games “is not important”.

What’s important for her is getting her student-athletes back “in the motion” of leaving home to attend school, compete, and “doing normal things”.

And Ms Chin says that in light of the “trauma” her charges have been through, she wants them “to get something to hold on to, to settle their minds…”

Hence her support of the resumption of school sports.

Also, lest we forget — as popular schoolboy football, netball, and other school sports competitions gradually resume — for many student-athletes, this is not the end.

Many — inspired by the achievements of their adult heroes — dream of a sports career after school.

That potential to inspire youth and, indeed, an entire nation, can’t be understated as the senior Reggae Girlz begin their quest for a third-straight appearance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Jamaicans open their qualification campaign today against Dominica at Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia.

We are told that follow-up fixtures in this first phase of qualifying will be against Nicaragua, Antigua and Barbuda, and Guyana next March/April.

The group winner will move on to the 2026 Concacaf Women’s Championship featuring top teams in the Caribbean, North American, and Central American region.

The top four teams will qualify automatically to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil. Two others will advance to inter-confederation play-offs.

The Reggae Girlz will be seeking to outdo their male counterparts who, while still having a real chance of qualifying for next year’s FIFA Men’s World Cup through play-offs, missed out on automatic qualification.

We welcome the return to the fold of celebrated striker Ms Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, who has been missing from national action for some time for one reason or another.

Head Coach Hubert Busby assures us that not only will Ms Shaw’s reintegration happen smoothly but that “we’ve done a really good job integrating a lot of young players. Sometimes things hadn’t gone their way but the players we’ve integrated — some from our own youth teams — have stepped up.

“They now have experience and have been guided by senior heads in the group…”

We wish the Reggae Girlz all that’s good as they step forward yet again, striving to make us all proud, lift spirits, and inspire in these most difficult of times.